Movie: Incredible Hulk

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The wife and I, and a whole gaggle of my friends, went to see The Incredible Hulk this past weekend. The general consensus is that it was really good.

This is more a sequel to the TV show than a sequel to the Ang Lee film, which is good because the TV show "got" the Hulk much better than that previous movie.

The origin is revamped and explained very succinctly over the opening credits. It told you exactly what you needed to know without telling you what you didn't. Many comic book movies have the perceived problem of being bogged down with an origin story. If more films presented the origin this way, there wouldn't be a problem.

The acting was first rate all around, and, for the most part, better than the Ang Lee version. Edward Norton was good as he always is. Same with Tim Roth, who was badass as the bad guy even before his transformation. I was especially impressed with Liv Tyler. I kind of always thought of her acting as being kind of "eh" but she really did a good job in this film.

The only actor who I think was a step down from the previous cast is William Hurt. He did a good job, don't get me wrong, and physically he was an almost exact match with the comic version of General Ross, but he wasn't the grizzled soldier than Sam Elliot was. 

Another actor who coluld be considered a bad addition was Tim Blake Nelson as Samuel Sterns. In this film, he is a minor character. So it is kind of jarring to see Nelson ham it up on screen. But when you consider who the character turns out to be, the acting actually makes sense.

The final scene was, like the first movie, a CGI fest. But, unlike the last one, it was clear and easy to see. And exciting and with a villain who not only posed a threat to the Hulk, but also wasn't a lake.

The film is filled with easter eggs for fans of the TV and comic book, from Bill Bixby appearing on a TV screen to Stan Lee and Lou Ferringno having their cameos bumped up to small roles to Banner's dog being named Rick.

The Incredible Hulk was a great comic book movie which got right what Ang Lee got wrong.